When 52% is a minority — and other upside down Jeff City thinking | Opinion
According to the Missouri General Assembly, voters don’t matter and a number is just a number, unless it means something to you.
On Nov. 5, 2024, 52% of Missouri voters called for an end to the state’s abortion ban. That was considered a decent win to many people.
But that wasn’t enough for our elected officials in Jefferson City, who approved a proposed constitutional amendment this week that, if approved by voters, would overturn that November decision.
A measly 52%? The Republican-controlled Missouri Senate decided it could best that if they gave it just one more try.
No wonder so many people think their votes don’t count.
But here’s a few times 52% has been lauded by Republicans:
- Donald Trump won Jackson County by just under 52% — actually, it was 51.14% (the Trump/Vance team won Missouri by 58.37% and Kansas by 57.2%)+.+
- In the November election 52 percent of white American women supported Trump by voting for him for a third time.
- And 52% was equal to Trump’s approval rating after his first month back in the Oval Office, polling showed then.
We can expect to see the new proposal on the November 2026 ballot or at an earlier election if Gov. Mike Kehoe calls one. While we don’t exactly know the ballot language on when abortion would be banned, it will ask voters to cancel Amendment 3, which removed the harshest restrictions on the procedure in the state.
After the Senate vote of 22-11, abortion rights advocates in the state house raised literal flags — well, banners — in opposition to the decision, and were removed from the upper gallery.
Amendment 3 wasn’t the only measure Republican lawmakers voted to repeal at the end of this legislative session. The state Senate voted 22-11 to roll back Proposition A, which nearly 58% of voters supported. This gave employees sick time off and raised the minimum wage.
Missouri Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, a St. Louis Democrat, makes a good point: “What I would have to say to voters is, you know, they want these issues, and then they never make the politicians pay when they take them away from them. And until that happens, nothing’s going to change. They’re going to keep doing it.”
The Star Editorial Board has written before about lawmakers attempting to nullify the idea of voter petitions, where Missourians can pass their own ideas and policies — often progressive — without having to go through the difficult and conservative legislative process. Some recent examples include abortion rights, a minimum wage increase, Medicaid expansion and marijuana legalization.
Last December, Platte County commissioners refused to enact a quarter-cent sales tax meant to address youth mental health. A majority of voters had said yes to the ballot measure.
But commissioners said nope. We wrote: “By willfully ignoring the needs of their constituents, Commissioners Scott Fricker, Joe Vanover and Dagmar Wood put their own self-interest — dare we say ideology? — ahead of what’s best for teens and young children in Platte County.”
And one month ago, we wrote: “Voters are not stupid. They know what they’re voting for, or against. The people should be heard, not ignored or overruled.”
So I’ll say it one more time: Lawmakers, stop ignoring the will of the people.
And to the people, we say: Stop ignoring the lawmakers who ignore your will.
The next days set aside for public elections according to the 2025 Missouri Election Calendar are Aug. 5 and Nov. 4. A 52% voter turnout for a special election would be unheard of. And welcome.
This story was originally published May 16, 2025 at 5:08 AM.
